Free Republic

THE interim between the primaries and the parties’ nominating conventions is, according to ancient writ, a fertile period for presidential campaigns to talk about how they plan to expand the political map in the fall. This year is no different. Barack Obama’s strategists are suggesting that the first African-American presidential nominee of a major political party can parlay increased turnout among black voters into a string of victories in the South. Given that roughly half of all African-Americans live in the 11 former Confederate states, the idea seems intuitive enough. It’s also wrong. Prying Southern electoral votes away from the...

4-Day, 10 Hour Work WeekReported by: Robin Thibault, KARK 4 NEWS Friday, Jun 27, 2008 @04:43pm CST The state of Utah's doing something that Arkansas state leaders are considering. Beginning in August, state employees in Utah will work four, ten hour days per week. That means dozens of buildings will be closed on Friday, saving energy and money. Back at home, a legislative panel agreed to look at a similar proposal by state senator Tracy Steele. Steele says a four day work week would save gas, cut down on emissions and improve productivity and morale. The legislature would have the...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Mike Huckabee, a former Republican presidential hopeful, has been hired by Fox News Channel as a political commentator. "Gov. Huckabee's campaign experience and knowledge of politics makes him a great addition to our ongoing election coverage," Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming, said in a statement Thursday. Huckabee, who served as governor of Arkansas for 10 1/2 years, dropped out of the race in March, after John McCain won enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination. Despite a financially strapped campaign, Huckabee won the leadoff caucuses in Iowa and seven other states. "I hope to...

Mike Huckabee, whose quips and one-liners livened up the Republican nomination race, has a new gig: political commentator for Fox News Channel. Huckabee will regularly contribute to the "America’s Election HQ" coverage, the network announced this afternoon. “Governor Huckabee’s campaign experience and knowledge of politics makes him a great addition to our ongoing election coverage,” Bill Shine, Fox senior vice president of programming, said in a statement.

LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter issued a statement Saturday endorsing Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, but the political endorsement was e-mailed from a government computer at his state office. Arkansas law prohibits the use of government resources for political purposes. When asked about the e-mail, Halter spokesman Garry Hoffmann said it was his idea and his mistake. "I guess I should have sent it from my home computer. I just wasn't thinking," Hoffmann said. "If that's a screw up, sorry. I'm kind of new at this." Hoffmann, who has worked for Halter since December,...

VAN BUREN - Two brothers are being held after a shootout with a Crawford County man who lawmen said caught them siphoning gas from his vehicle. Chadrick Holsted, 20, turned himself in about 5 p.m. Tuesday after authorities negotiated his surrender with his father, Chief Deputy Ron Brown said. His brother, Mark Holsted, was shot in the shoulder and leg late Sunday and was taken to St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith. He was listed in stable condition Tuesday, a nursing supervisor said. The brothers, of the Rudy area, will be charged with aggravated assault and theft, Brown...

The Arkansas Department of Higher Education has begun checking students’ Social Security numbers and alerting colleges and universities if they appear invalid. Jim Purcell, the department director, said Thursday that the goal is to ensure that illegal aliens aren’t allowed to pay instate tuition rates when state officials think they’re ineligible under federal law. The investigation into the Social Security numbers began last week after Purcell alerted institutions, at the direction of Gov. Mike Beebe, that they need to ask students for evidence of legal residency before allowing them to pay the cheaper in-state rates. Purcell said the first check...

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Arkansas college administrators are already looking to a proposed state lottery to help solve an expected $1 billion shortfall in financial aid to students over the next three decades, even before the issue makes it onto the November ballot, e-mail exchanges obtained by The Associated Press show. Jim Purcell, director of the state Department of Higher Education, acknowledged in an e-mail to the governor's office that funding for college programs remains locked in a "death spiral to the bottom." Purcell urged the governor to defer all new scholarship ideas unless voters support the lottery measure backed...

Excerpt - LITTLE ROCK - The permanent exhibits at the Clinton Presidential Library could be revamped or entirely changed as the landmark dedicated to the former president's time in office approaches its fifth anniversary, the facility's director said Tuesday. Library director Terri Garner said discussions have begun about how best to showcase Bill Clinton's pursuits since leaving office in January 2001. That could include displays about work done by the William J. Clinton Foundation, which focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention and environmental policy. Then there's also the matter of his wife, Hillary, and her own political career in the years since....

MSUNuke and ArkPig620, and I are heading to NM for Memorial Day Weekend. We will spend 2 nights with friends in Las Cruces, NM, and 2 in Albuquerque, NM. We are wondering what attractions are in the Albuquerque, NM area and a safe area/hotel to stay? Of course we are in our 30s and want the drinking/shopping district;) All three (3) of us are military and have CHL, but would like to avoid any local criminals and overzealous law enforcement in our celebrations;) Thanks for the Albuquerque, NM area info!

Police in Jonesboro say Brian D. Bass, 39, left the half-eaten candy bar on a counter at the Cato Animal Hospital during a Jan. 24 robbery. Detective Jason Simpkins says police sent the chocolate and peanut treat to the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock, where scientists pulled off a DNA sample. Simpkins says that sample matched Bass, who now faces felony commercial burglary and theft charges. Sheriff's deputies said Bass remained in Craighead County jail Friday in lieu of $50,000 bond. However, the Snickers bar apparently did not alleviate Bass' hunger. "It was also discovered that the suspect involved...

In Arkansas, John McCain leads Barack Obama by twenty-four percentage points. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows McCain attracting 57% of the vote while Obama earns 33%. McCain build this margin by winning 92% of the Republican vote, 38% support from Democrats, and leading Obama by twenty-four percentage points among unaffiliated voters. McCain is viewed favorably by 57% of Arkansas voters, Obama by 38%. In March, McCain had a twenty-nine percentage point lead over Obama. Rasmussen Markets shows that Republicans are currently given a 73.0 % chance of winning the Six Electoral College Votes from Arkansas...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWW0P1d-v40 Video footage of the Mexican Consulate creating programs for it's neglected citizens (illegals) at the Arkansas State Capitol.

Clinton's records vanished after warning May 12, 2008 By Jerry Seper - Hillary Rodham Clinton's Rose Law Firm billing records, found in the White House residence in January 1996 two years after they had been subpoenaed by government regulators, disappeared shortly after the first lady was warned that the firm's billing problems were "very serious" and the then-ongoing Whitewater investigation could result in criminal charges, newly obtained records show. More than 1,100 pages of grand jury testimony, investigative reports, memos, charging documents, chronologies, narratives and draft indictments, previously undisclosed but now being "processed" at the Library of Congress, say Mrs....

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — It's a happy Mother's Day for an Arkansas woman — she's pregnant with her 18th child. Michelle Duggar, 41, is due on New Year's Day, and the latest addition will join seven sisters and 10 brothers. There are two sets of twins. "We've had three in January, three in December. Those two months are a busy time for us," she said, laughing. The Duggars' oldest child, Josh, is 20, and the youngest, Jennifer, is nine months old.

here is the leatest info. Picher, OK Several people have been reported killed in Picher after at least five tornadoes reportedly touched down Saturday in eastern Oklahoma, officials said. The south end of the city has been completely destroyed. Medical examiners are on their way to the area, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol dispatcher said. Troopers are helping local authorities with search and rescue operations in the area. 2) At least 3 dead in SW MO 3) Major damage reports coming in on the SE side of Stuttgart AR

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 296 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 335 PM CDT SAT MAY 10 2008 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ARKANSAS NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 335 PM UNTIL 1000 PM CDT. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES...

Federal regulators close Arkansas bank ANB Financial. ANB Financial banks closed by federal regulators over "unsafe and unsound" practices

Thursday morning, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved the ballot title of an initiated act, seeking to stop illegal immigrants from getting state services and benefits. The proposal, if approved by voters in November, would require immigrants to prove their legal status before getting such benefits. The group pushing this initiative, Secure Arkansas, must now collect 61,794 signatures from registered voters, to get this proposal on the November general election ballot. The Secretary of State's office says those signatures must be turned in by July 7. The group Secure Arkansas will need help in gathering signatures, especially on May 20th, the...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, announced Monday it would expand its discounted prescription drug program to offer 90-day supplies for $10 and add several women's medications at a discount. It also said it would lower the price of more than 1,000 over-the-counter drugs. The move marks the third phase of a company program that began in 2006 to provide a 30-day supply of generic prescription drugs for $4. The Bentonville-based company said the program has saved customers more than $1 billion. With the expansion, the company began filling prescriptions Monday for up to 350...

Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal to voters last night to end Hillary Clinton's dreams of another comeback in the race for the White House. The Illinois senator told Democrat voters heading to the polls today in Indiana and North Carolina: "I need help." With less than a month to go before the state-by-state vote ends, the Obama camp is desperate to finish off Mrs Clinton's campaign to become the Democrat's presidential nominee. Barack Obama is desperate to beat Hillary Clinton, so much so that he is counting on support from celebrities including Tom Hanks. Mr Obama, 46, also broke...

The Massachusetts Democratic primary, along with nearly two dozen other primaries and caucuses, was held on Feb. 5. Hillary Clinton won it by 15 points, one of her best showings anywhere this year, and Michael Dukakis voted in it—but he won’t say for whom. [SNIP] Mr. Dukakis has maintained an adamantly neutral public stance throughout the campaign, hoping instead to sell both candidates and their campaigns on the need for assembling a massive grassroots organizing effort—a captain and six block leaders in all 200,000 precincts in the country—for the fall. But he also said that Barack Obama will probably be...

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright couldn't have done more damage to Barack Obama's campaign if he had tried. And you have to wonder if that's just what one friend of Wright wanted. Shortly before he rose to deliver his rambling, angry, sarcastic remarks at the National Press Club Monday, Wright sat next to, and chatted with, Barbara Reynolds. A former editorial board member at USA Today, she runs something called Reynolds News Services and teaches ministry at the Howard University School of Divinity. (She is an ordained minister). It also turns out that Reynolds - introduced Monday as a member of...

U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-OH, blamed labor unions and partisan politics for a U.S. House vote this week rejecting an amendment that could have kept the Delta Queen riverboat from having to phase out its overnight cruise packages. The historic riverboat has been operating with a special Congressional exemption from the federal Safety at Sea Act since 1968, an exemption that has been renewed eight times. The safety act bans the use of wooden vessels for overnight cruises. Backers of the exemption claim the Delta Queen deserves special treatment because of its historical significance and recently upgraded fire-safety systems. With...

In last week's Philadelphia debate, Hillary Clinton said she would commit the United States to a retaliatory attack against Iran, presumably with nuclear weapons, if it dropped the bomb on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, or Kuwait. Asked if "it should be U.S. policy now to treat an Iranian attack on Israel as if it were an attack against the United States," Clinton astonishingly responded that she'd use American nukes not just to defend Israel, our traditional strategic ally, but also other neighboring states such as the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait from an Iranian nuclear attack. Barack Obama's...

RUSH: Do you remember the genesis of MoveOn.org? The whole point of MoveOn.org, it was a Clinton front group. "Move on," meant, "Can't we move on from the impeachment? Can't we move on from all of these scandals? Can't we move on from all of these little Chihuahuas yapping at the heels of the Clintons? Can't we just move on?" With that in mind, in February 2008 in a closed door fundraiser (phone quality here), this is Mrs. Clinton talking about MoveOn.org. HILLARY: We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic...

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Federal judges ordered 18 illegal immigrants arrested a north Arkansas poultry plant to be processed for deportation. However, none will serve any jail time for using fake Social Security numbers and state identification cards. Magistrate Judge Beth Deere and U.S. District Judge James Moody accepted guilty pleas today from 17 of those arrested at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Batesville last week. Federal prosecutors dismissed the misdemeanor charges against one man, but say they planned to ask U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin deportation proceedings against him. Those arrested had faced up to up to...

LITTLE ROCK -- A group supporting a proposed ballot initiative on illegal immigration is questioning Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's ability to be impartial in reviewing it because he has received campaign donations from people affiliated with an organization that opposes the measure. Kenny Wallis, president of Keep Arkansas Legal, said Monday his organization has discovered individuals with the Arkansas Friendship Coalition donated thousands of dollars to McDaniel's 2006 campaign for attorney general. Arkansas Friendship Coalition, a group of civic, church and business leaders that opposes punitive state and local laws targeting immigrants, has expressed opposition to the proposed ballot initiative...

If Gregory Christopher Decay is convicted of capital murder this week, his attorneys plan to argue that the former New Orleans resident pulled the trigger on a Fayetteville couple while traumatized from Hurricane Katrina. The capital murder trial for Decay, 24, begins today in Washington County. He is accused in the April 2007 slayings of Kevin Barkley Jones and Kendall Rachell Rice, both 24. Jones and Rice were shot in the head in a drug dispute, court records show. Their bodies were found in their Fayetteville apartment. Deputy public defender Julie Tolleson said that if Decay is convicted, she will...

Immigration agents make arrests in five states Immigration raid nets almost 30 arrests at Houston Shipley Do-Nut ... Federal immigration agents raid Ark. poultry plant Immigration crackdowns reported in 6 states

It was one of those typical questions from a reporter gaggle on Capitol Hill: Does Harry Reid think the protracted nomination fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will harm the party? Reid didn't miss a beat. "It makes me bitter," he deadpanned. Reid has such a dry humor that you actually have to pause and look at him to make sure he's not being serious when he's attempting comedy. But his usual grimace in front of reporters quickly turned to a grin as he capitalized on the now infamous "bitter" comment made by Obama at a San Francisco area...

After the North Illinois University and Virginia Tech shootings, college students must not only worry about the rising cost of tuition or whether they failed their math tests, but also whether their campuses are safe. This need for safety has some people advocating permission to carry concealed weapons on campus, which is not permitted at the UA. Supporters argue that "carrying" could help stop shootings on campus before they escalate. If something were to happen and a person with a weapon was there, the aggravator could be stopped before he managed to do more harm, said Travis Robinson, member of...

Former US president Bill Clinton said Friday he has been ordered to hold his tongue by his wife Hillary for reviving an embarrassing story about her trip to Bosnia in 1996 while out campaigning. "Hillary called me and said 'You don't remember this. You weren't there, let me handle it.' I said, 'Yes ma'am," the grinning ex-president said during a campaign stop in Indiana, according to television pictures. A series of gaffes have made Bill Clinton somewhat of a liability in his wife's campaign for the Democratic White House nomination. And he put his foot in it again Thursday by...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sB4k_ejTPw The most notable statements in this video are from the ACLU officer in Arkansas Rita Sklar who compares immigration reform activist to 1930's Nazi activist in Germany. Rita Sklar's claim of scapegoating is partially correct, but the scapegoating is from bankers in Oklahoma trying to blame economic downturns on immigration reform activist for their sub-prime loans to illegals! The study put forth by the Arkansas Friendship Coalition is lie! I got this message from IRON- "The Oklahoma economy is going to maintain a stronger economy than all states around us because we cut off at least 6,000 off medicaid...

Excerpt - LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Bankrupt farmer Tommy Robinson, the former sheriff, congressman and gubernatorial candidate, has been ordered to serve a 60-day jail sentence, beginning next month, for criminal contempt in his personal bankruptcy case. Robinson said he would appeal Thursday's order by U.S. District Judge James Moody, who told Robinson to report to the U.S. Marshal's Office on May 5 to begin serving the sentence. Moody also ordered Robinson to pay a $5,000 fine. ~ snip ~

In my first race, I was an unknown candidate running for the United States Senate against a three-term incumbent. Most political figures believed I couldn't win so did nothing to help. There was a major exception: Charlton Heston. When others didn't have time for me, he did. I didn't win that first race, but his encouragement is something I'll never forget. Six years later, I was an incumbent governor running for reelection and Charlton Heston came to two small communities in South Arkansas to do campaign events. The events were stunningly successful, bringing record crowds to these communities who were...

The Retailer's Initiative To Offer Fair-Trade Coffee Is Pleasing Environmentalists But Reheating A Debate Over Treatment Of Its Workers. With a simple cup of coffee, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) finds itself back in the charged debate over how it treats workers. The world's largest retailer is introducing three house-brand coffees that are certified as fair trade. And that, of course, renews the prolonged discussion about just what sort of treatment the world's largest retailer offers its own workers. After all, fair trade, in essence, is about paying a fair wage -- and much of the criticism heaped upon Wal-Mart in recent...

A ballot initiative before the attorney general's office would require those seeking public benefits from the state to prove their citizenship. The measure by Secure Arkansas, a group chaired by Jeannie Burlsworth of Bryant, would make individuals sign an affidavit under the penalty of perjury that they are lawfully living in the United States. Burlsworth says the measure is aimed at stopping illegal immigrants from receiving state benefits. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has until April 9 to review the proposed ballot title. If approved, supporters of the measure could begin gathering the required 61,974 signatures needed to place it before...

TOrnado hitting the City of Little Rock - major damage reported near the city.

Breaking...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Arkansas' marriage-age crisis is over. A law that mistakenly allowed anyone — even toddlers — to marry with parental permission was repealed by a measure signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Mike Beebe, ending months of embarrassment for the state and confusion for county clerks. Lawmakers didn't realize until after the end of last year's regular session that a law they approved, intended to establish 18 as the minimum age for marriage, instead removed the minimum age to marry entirely. An extraneous "not" in the bill allowed anyone who was not pregnant to marry at any...

Even as the rest of the Democratic Party around him takes sides in the epic struggle of Clinton vs. Obama, Al Gore remains inscrutable, silent, above the battle. His gigantic but unspoken presence is raising rumors and fueling speculation. Joe Klein, writing in Time Magazine, even suggested a scenario where a deadlocked convention turns its lonely eyes to Al. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson comes out for Obama, and so do Ted Kennedy and Bill Bradley. Govs. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Jon Corzine of New Jersey back Hillary. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while avoiding an endorsement, speaks out...

Hillary Clinton should hang in there and run a good race. And she has vowed to do so. Clinton has been under unprecedented pressure to bow out of the divisive Democratic primary and to clear the field for her opponent -- Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Among those who want her to throw in the towel are, of course, Obama’s supporters. But many other Democrats are trying to push her out of the contest on the ground that a contentious race can hurt the party and could help their Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Clinton also has been...

I have an co-worker who is older, and completely full of crap. His birthday is May 02, 1937, making him 14-17 at the time of the Korean War.He has told stories that are unbelievable to clients who, if they find out, could hurt our business. My boss approached me since I am military and asked me to find out how I can get documentation that we can print up in the coffee room to "out him" as a "stolen valor" type of guy. The latest news is that he won the Navy Cross in 1952 (when he was 15-16) when...

Former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter has hinted that he might cast his vote for Senator Barack Obama to aid his emergence as the candidate for the Democrats in America’s bid to elect a new President. Carter, who is a Super Delegate from Georgia State, gave this hint at a media interaction after the Carter Center Awards for Guinea Worm Eradication in Abuja yesterday. Carter, who was accompanied by his wife Rosalynn, did not profess a direct support for Obama but rather choose to make a veiled statement. “We are very interested in the primaries. Don’t forget that...

Possibly to avoid being one-upped on Indiana national security politics, former President Bill Clinton told a crowd in Columbus, Indiana, today that his wife had tried to join the Army. "I remember when we were young, right out of law school, she went down and tried to join the Army and they said 'Your eyes are so bad, nobody will take you,'" he said, after heralding her record on issues of concern to the military, such as body armor and access to health care. I assume this is a version of the "Hillary Clinton tried to join the Marines" anecdote...

She's not going anywhere. If her campaigning in Indiana this weekend, which doesn't vote until May, isn't enough of an indicator, then maybe this weekend's email from her husband will convince you. Here's part of it: Dear Tom, Here's the most important thing you need to know about this race: it's neck-and-neck. Only 130 delegates separate Hillary from Senator Obama -- and that's not counting Florida and Michigan. The difference in popular vote is less than 1 percent, and millions of voters have yet to make their voices heard. This election should be about their choice. But now we're hearing...

In a recent newsletter to Conway Corporation customers, CEO Richard Arnold presented his concerns about Senate Bill 2191, a bipartisan measure to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John W. Warner (R-Va.) introduced the bill in October. Arnold said he has concerns that, if the bill is passed, not only will it mean an increase in rates for Conway Corp. customers, it could be devastating to the U.S. economy and even fail to have the desired effect. According to an online press release linked to Lieberman's Web site, "the America's Climate Security Act is projected to reduce...

I'm indebted to Hillary Clinton for the revelation that my global wanderings when my dad was president qualify me to run for the presidency myself. Mrs. Clinton has been insisting that her global junkets as first lady, and her meetings with foreign leaders, qualify her to be president of these United States. I never thought of it that way, but if she is correct then I am eminently qualified to follow my father's footsteps and take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., not merely as a member of the president's family, but as president in my own right. Hillary, who...

Are Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elton John breaking U.S. laws by allowing the British pop singer, a foreign national, to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign by performing a concert on her behalf? That's the question Inside the Beltway put to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) yesterday, which does not rule out the possibility. First, some background supplied by the FEC: The goal of the 1966 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was to "minimize foreign intervention" in U.S. elections by establishing a series of limitations on foreign nationals. In 1974, the prohibition was incorporated...